Twelve studies find that overall gains in charter schools are larger than other public schools; four find charter schools’ gains higher in certain significant categories of schools; six find comparable gains; and, four find that charter schools’ overall gains lagged behind traditional schools.
Source: Charter School Achievement: What We Know, July 2005 Update
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: Overview
: Document Library
: Resources
Overview
Charter-granting entities -- also known as charter-granting agents, charter sponsors, or charter authorizers -- are key to charter school reform because they approve and monitor charter schools. First, these entities have authority to approve applications for charter schools. Second, once the school is running, they monitor its progress relative to its stated goals and evaluate whether its performance merits renewal of the charter contract.
Current legislation typically provides for the following sponsorship arrangements:
- Single: typically the local school district or state education agency
- Dual: usually the state agency once the local school board approves, or vice versa
- Multiple: options include local, intermediate, and/or state education agency; state school board; public or private post-secondary education institution; state board for charter schools; or (in Milwaukee) a city government.
Twenty-one of the 34 states with charter laws in 1998 allow for a single sponsor, usually the local education agency, and thirteen states allow multiple sponsors. Fifteen states allow charter school planners to appeal to a higher authority if the initial granting agent rejects their application. For oversight, most state statutes require charter schools to report their progress to the sponsor, the district, and the state legislature. Many require an annual audit. Most states allow the charter school to conduct the audit, although Minnesota, for example, gives audit authority to the state board of education. Some states also require charter schools to submit an annual report on their progress toward achieving the goals identified in the charter.
Fiscal and academic accountability are the most common measures of charter school performance. However charter schools offer an opportunity for granting agents to look at other measures of school success. Charter-granting agents may want to consider providing guidance on the following: parent participation, teacher retention, community involvement, coordination of educational and social services, and program articulation between charters and other (middle and high) schools their students may attend.
Recently, a network to promote the exchange of information, ideas, lessons, and effective practices among various types of charter authorizers was created. Its aim is to assist charter sponsors in monitoring or elevating the quality of charter schools. This web site supports the growing network of charter sponsors by providing a place to post and share Documents and by listing links to Resources for charter-granting agents.
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